Mens' Lacrosse: Dowling upsets C.W.Post, 8-7

Brookville, NY - Behind 13 saves from Ryan Dougherty (Port Jefferson Station, NY), the Dowling Men's Lacrosse team handed No. 1 nationally ranked and defending National Champion, C.W. Post, their first loss of the season. The Golden Lions improve to 8-1 with their 7th straight win while the Pioneers drop to 10-1.

With C.W. Post not having lost a contest since March 21st of 2009, their 19 game win streak would seem to trump the 7 game run by the Golden Lions started on March 13th of this year. However, strong defensive play would be the name of the game as Dowling held C.W. Post to 1 goal in the 4th quarter to give them the 8-7 East Coast Conference victory.

Both teams would would put the pressure on in their respective defensive zones, but it would be the 2009 National Champions who would strike first as Nick Coric scored from a Joe Meo pass at the 13:13 mark to put the Pioneers on the board. Dowling would be held scoreless in the 1st as they were outshot 9-2 with Dougherty making 5 saves to keep it within 1.

Down 1 going into the 2nd, this time it would be Dowling who struck first as Brandon Bergersen fired one in on his own to tie it up at a goal a piece with 13:37 remaining. They weren't done there as C.W. Post seemed to win the next faceoff, but Kyle O'Brien would be able to grab a loose ball and fire it into the net to give Dowling their second goal in under 10 seconds, putting them up 2-1. The Pioneers would even it up at 2 thanks to James Johnston, but Dan Abbene would quickly score his 2nd goal of the season to once again give Dowling the 1 goal advantage. With the game hardly over, C.W. Post would score two more before the half to give them a 4-3 lead over the Golden Lions.

Spread out scoring would help Dowling tie it up at 6 at the end of 3 with Abbene adding another to his total while Redmond Killpack and Vito DeMola would each put one on the board.

With the score tied, both teams would come out firing in the 4th as Dougherty recorded another 3 saves off 9 shots. Once again, however, it was Dowling who struck first as Kyle O'Brien snuck one in off an assist from John Amato. Less than a minute later, PJ Nunez would give the Golden Lions a 2 goal lead with just under 12 minutes remaining. The Pioneers would kick it into high gear, putting more pressure on Dougherty and the Dowling defense. James Johnston would score once again, pulling his team within 1 with 3:49 showing on the clock.

Dowling would be able to take the win as long as they could hold possession, but a slashing call would put the Golden Lions a man down with just over a minute left in play, giving the Pioneers one last chance to tie it up and send it into overtime. The Dowling poles would do their part, forcing loose balls and winding down the clock to secure the 8-7 victory.

Dougherty recorded 13 saves on the day while Dan Orlando of C.W. Post would have an equally as impressive game, turning away 11 shots to keep the game close. Turnovers were plentiful in the game with the Pioneers committing 32 to Dowling's 27. Post would also struggle in man up opportunities, failing to take advantage of all 6 chances.

This game also marks the first home field loss for C.W. Post since March 15th, 2008.

Dowling will host Lake Erie College at Golden Lions Field next Saturday, April 17th. Game time is set for 1:00 PM.